Full Circle: Reunion
by djean
Summary: A mysterious woman from Logan's past? The deuce, you say! I know. It's been done before but, well ...as you might expect, Lena's stubborn and cranky and she wouldn't get out of my head. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please l
1. Default Chapter

Full Circle: Reunion

Prologue

You'd think a fella could catch a break every now and then, Logan thought to himself as he ducked around the crowd. Just wanted a couple a drinks, few rounds of pool, a little flirting, a little fighting, no big deal…

The boy had been forced out of the alley by a gang of street kids behind him. Even by the light of a street lamp you could tell he was a mutant, pale white skin, large pointed ears and a bare skull. He was young and, judging by the smell of him, scared out of his wits. That's probably why he grabbed the little girl. He didn't speak but he made it obvious that she was his hostage. As soon as the crowd backed away from him, he went tearing back down the alleyway. The little girl's mother was screaming for the cops but Logan doubted that they'd get there in time. 

Logan finally made it to the alley in time to see a woman in a hooded coat sneaking in ahead of him. Perfect, he thought, what did she think she was gonna do? She was too far away to call out to. Yelling would have let the boy know that he was being followed. Logan tried to catch up to her but she was moving fast. Finally they came round the bend to a blind alley. Oh Christ, he thought, now the kid was cornered. This is getting worse by the minute.

"It's not a dead end. It just looks like one." Lena pulled her hood back and put her hands out to her sides. The last thing she wanted to do was scare the boy more. "The fence behind you isn't locked. Once you're through there it's less than a block to an access tunnel. That's where you live right? In the tunnels? You're safe. I promise. Just please let me have the girl, okay? Ya don't need her anymore. If you hurt her, you're just gonna make things worse." Come on kid, she thought to herself, don't do this.

The boy scrambled to the gate of the fence. It swung open, as she'd promised.

"See, safe as houses. So let me take the girl, okay?" She moved forward, too fast. It was enough to spook the boy. He drove a clawed hand into the little girl's stomach, dropped her body by the fence gate and ran into the darkness.

"Dammitdammitdammit! DAMN IT!" Lena kicked the empty boxes lying beside a dumpster on her way over to the little girl's side. Shouldn't have moved so fast. He would have let her go. He wouldn't have panicked. She wondered how much time she'd have before the cops finally made it. She hoped it would be long enough.

Dammit? What the hell was she up to? Logan thought to himself. The little girl might be dead and this woman was…angry? He was about to step forward when the woman spoke again.

"Hi Sweetie. Everything's gonna be okay. I can fix you up. Let me take a look." It was bad. The boy's claws had been very sharp and very dirty. The edges of the wound were ragged and the cuts went deep. She took the little girl's hand, relaxed and went _in_. Okay Lena, she thought to herself, let's do this quick-like. First stop the pain then slow the blood flow. She found the involved nerves and shut them down, and then she got control of the heart that was racing like crazy.

"There, does that feel better?"

"Uhuh" 

"What's your name?"

"Kelly."

"Okay Kelly, I'm going to have to pick you up and carry you around the corner so I can get some more light on you. All I need you to do is try to calm down. Can you do that for me?"

"Uhuh."

"Alright then, let's go."

She's a mutant too huh? Well I'll be dipped, Logan thought, I guess she does know what she's doing. He debated making himself known but decided to wait until she was finished with the girl. No sense surprising her while she was concentrating. 

The woman had shoulder-length, straight, blonde hair that she wore tucked behind her ears. Strands of it had come loose and they fell in front of her face. She moved quickly and more surely than she should have been able to in the darkness of the alley. She repeatedly stopped to scan her surroundings, frowning nervously. 

Lena moved the girl out to the main alley where she had her pick of two escape routes and settled down beside another dumpster. Now she could concentrate on the task at hand. First she stimulated the white blood cells and cleaned out the wound. It was when she began to heal the cuts themselves that she heard it. Sounded like breathing, maybe. Maybe she was just being neurotic. Better safe than sorry. She stepped up the pace. 

When she was done, she stood the girl up. "Alright Kelly, you're almost as good as new. When you get to your momma, you tell her that you need to go to the doctor. It's very important, okay sweetheart?"

"Okay."

"Good girl, now your momma is just down this alley." She indicated the alley behind her. "You go ahead and run back to her. Don't stop till you get to her." 

Lena was pretty sure she was between the girl and where the sound had come from. She climbed stiffly to her feet. Dizziness hit her as she stood. 

I've gotta be out of my damned mind she thought again. Still there isn't anything to do but carry on. I just spent my last bit of strength patchin' her up. I'm sure not gonna let some bastard tear her apart again. 

She made an effort to look and sound tougher than she felt. "I know yer there whoever ya are. I ain't in very good shape right now but yer still gonna have to get through me to do anything to that little girl and I don't aim to go down without a fight. So what's it gonna be, continue yer nice, quiet evening or dance with me?" 

"I ain't gonna hurt the girl." She'd heard that voice before. Her insides twisted slowly as recognition dawned.

Her eyes frantically scanned the dark corners of the alley until they found something. Boots attached to legs attached to the man who was moving now, into the light. It was him, oh God no, why now? Her mind reeled and the fear hit her like a punch to the stomach. Her knees went weak as she struggled to regain control of herself. You knew this moment was coming sooner or later Lanie-girl, she thought to herself, now you get to see what you're really made of, at least the girl's safe. That's one more to the good. Carefully, without taking her eyes off of him she dug out the penknife from her pocket.

"Who is it in there? Anyone I know? Is it you Kovacs? Is this your idea of a joke you sick son of a bitch? Well guess what, I ain't laughin' I knew ya'd find me eventually and I been ready for this for a long time. I told you I wouldn't go back; told ya I'd die first." He saw the flash of metal but he was too far away to stop her hand as she drew the knife against her throat. "Well I wasn't kidding," she croaked. The blood pumped out of her body in hot gushes. She sank down to her knees.

He covered the distance between them in a heartbeat, "Good lord, Darlin', what'd do that for? Don't you worry now, I'm gonna take care of ya." In his head, he was screaming for Jean or the Professor or anyone who could help; with his hand, he tried to stop the bleeding. He knew he didn't have much time. Her eyes were already glazing over. Those eyes! Wide-open, dark, gray eyes. He had seen them before, but where? Her scent wasn't familiar at all. How did he know the eyes but nothing else? 

He didn't notice her hand reach up to his cheek. "Oh Logan, please forgive me … I just wasn't strong enough then … I'm so sorry this happened … I'm gonna try this time … take you with me if I can." The rambling trailed off but her hand stayed on his cheek. Then he felt it, pressure or energy coming from her hand and his world went dark. He jerked his head away from her and her hand fell. He shook his head to clear it, but the darkness didn't go away. Jeannie?! Dammit answer me, please, I got me a world o' trouble here!


	2. Chapter One

Full Circle: Reunion

Chapter One:

"Logan?" Kurt's voice came at him from the doorway. "The woman is stable, finally but we've sedated her. She lost a lot of blood and whatever she did to save the child seems to have taken a lot out of her. You can sit with her if you want."

Logan pulled his body up from the slouch it had settled into during the wait, stretched out the stiffened muscles of his legs and back and rose lightly to his feet.

"Thanks Kurt, think I'll do that." Logan headed into the room. Kurt was surprised to see Logan navigate the room so easily.

"Has your vision come back mein freund?" Kurt asked him.

"Nope, still can't see a thing."

"How can you find your way around?"

"She blinded me, Elf. She didn't get to any of my other senses. I can still hear and feel a lot better than most people, good enough ta handle gettin' around, 'specially indoors where there's always a little bit of echo to help." 

"Like sonar?"

"Kinda."

"Fantastische."

Not as fantastiche as havin' my eyes back would be right about now, Logan thought dejectedly. I hope she pulls out of this an' I hope I can convince her to turn 'em back on when she does. 

Jean had only just caught his frantic, mental screams in time. They had needed Gateway's help to get the woman into the mansion's med lab. Henry and Kurt immediately went to work on the woman and Jean had attempted unsuccessfully to get Logan's eyes to work again. 

That was three hours ago. Logan was still covered in her blood, his clothes reeked of it, that and her fear. The combination of smells set his teeth on edge but he wouldn't leave. He wanted to be there when she woke up, wanted to get some answers from her. Who did she think he was? No matter how many times his mind went back over the events of the evening, none of it made sense to him. Why had she been so afraid of him? He'd told her that he wasn't out to get the girl. Who was Kovacs? How could her eyes be so familiar when nothing else was?

He found a chair and turned it around so that he could sit facing the back. He had just spent the last three hours sitting frontwise on the same variety of chair and he was hoping that the change might keep him from getting uncomfortable right away. Not likely, stiff plastic and metal frontwise or backwards was still not meant for an all-night sit. He'd of paced if it hadn't of taken too much concentration without his vision. 

"We have her restrained, so she can't hurt herself again. I'll be in again to check on her in an hour. Holler out if you need me." Kurt left Logan to watch over the woman. 

Logan relaxed a little when he realized that the fear he smelled was coming more from his own clothes than the woman in the bed. She was sleeping peacefully now. Could be a good thing. Maybe she would be willing to talk when she woke up. He hoped so. He listened to the rhythm of her breathing. He decided to try and catch a nap himself. He rested his chin on his hands crossed over the back of the seat and tried to ignore the stiff, dried blood covering the sleeves. He sunk into a light sleep. 

He woke abruptly to the change in her breathing. It was faster now and had a ragged edge to it. He guessed she was dreaming and not any sort of pleasant dream either. She began to moan and then to speak but he couldn't understand the words.

"Kurt, get in here. She's havin' some sort o' nightmare!"

"I'm here, what…?" Kurt trailed off as he heard her speaking. He moved to the bed. Apparently, Kurt knew what she was saying because he began replying to her in a language Logan couldn't place.

"What's goin' on? What's she saying?" 

"Mein Gott! She is begging us to kill her. I'm trying to tell her that she is safe but I don't think she can hear me … Please child, wake up … no one will hurt you here I promise. Please don't…" Kurt drew his breath in sharply as if he had been hit, "NOOOO!" 

This last word came ripping out of both the woman and Kurt. Logan wasn't sure what to do but he knew he had to do something. He launched out of the chair towards the bed, his left leg easily clearing the back of the chair. He swung his arms out slowly, open handed until he made contact with Kurt. His hand closed on Kurt's shoulder and he jerked the man back away from the bed. Once Kurt was out of the way, Logan searched the end of the bed and found a folded blanket. He opened it up and threw it over the bed. Only then did he try to touch the woman. Whatever powers she had, he figured that they relied on skin contact or centered on her hands. He found her hands still bound and slid his hands up her arms to her shoulders and shook her gently.

"Hey there now, yer just havin' a bad dream. Ya gotta calm down. Yer safe and everything's gonna be okay now. C'mon now, Darlin' rest easy." It wasn't working; he could feel her straining at the bindings on her wrists. She didn't hear him. He was surprised at her strength. He could feel the tight, wiry muscles of her arms slide and contract underneath her skin as she fought the restraints and his grip.

"It's the restraints," Kurt gasped as he regained his composure. "Somehow, somewhere she was held this way and … it … it was terrible … I saw it … when I touched her hand … she pulled me in … I could see her nightmare … they made her … they used her to … Mein Gott! What did they do to her?"

Logan moved his hand down to the buckle of the wrist restraint and undid it, then he did the same to the other side. He pulled her hands up, still holding them through the blanket, to show the woman that her arms were free. The change was immediate. She stopped fighting and fell back into the bed.

"That's it sweetheart. I told ya. Yer gonna be just fine. I'm gonna take care of ya now. Ain't gonna let nobody hurt ya… that's it girl…" Logan's voice went on in a soft, low purr. Kurt couldn't make out the words anymore but he doubted that mattered as much as how it sounded. Logan was working his particular brand of magic.

Kurt had seen Logan do this before, calm down something wild. He hoped it would work on the woman. It seemed to be. As Logan's voice went on in a quiet singsong, she was relaxing into a fetal position curled around the hand that Logan held onto and stroked through the blanket. The tight lines of her face softened. Her breathing slowed and lost the ragged edge. 

Kurt still couldn't get the images from her dream out of his mind. Lab technicians with needles and scalpels, their faces hidden by surgical masks … machines that surrounded her pinned her down, gutted her. The poor thing, no wonder she begged for death. That thought set him to worrying again.

"Is it safe to leave her without restraints? She might try to hurt herself again."

"Ain't no way I'm puttin' those damn things back on her. I'll watch her and make sure she don't hurt herself. Don't worry about that."

"Watch her? How are you going to do that, Logan? You can't see a thing."

"This ain't a discussion, Elf." Logan's whisper cut through the room like a static charge. "I told ya already I can get by without my eyes if I have to, now pull that chair over here so I can sit closer to the bed."

Kurt new better to push the issue, he did as Logan asked. He hoped Logan knew what he was doing. He left the door open so that he would be able to hear if there was trouble.

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It was morning now, still early yet. Logan could hear people upstairs stirring to life. Water was running through the pipes to the showers and he could smell coffee brewing in the kitchen. His stomach growled and his body ached. He figured that two or so hours had passed since she'd had the nightmare. 

She was going to wake up soon. He could tell by the changes in her breathing. He'd be ready this time. 

"Nononononooo!" She scrambled backward slipping out from underneath the blanket. She tried to jump off of the opposite side of the bed. He caught her easily across the waist and scooped her back onto the bed. He pinned her arms down firmly, but gently.

"Now hang on just a second, Darlin' and listen to me close. I don't know who ya think I am but I ain't him. I wasn't gonna hurt that girl; I don't wanna hurt you and I don't know where ya think I was aimin' to take ya but this ain't there. Yer safe and yer free ta go as soon as yer able. So would you please settle down and stop acting like yer dealin' with the devil himself. Yer gonna give me some kind o' complex."

The room went dead silent as he realized that he was holding onto her bare arms. He couldn't take his hands off of her now. They wouldn't move. He could feel the energy coming from her again. Just the slightest warm pressure rose up his arms up through his head. Suddenly he could see light and it was blinding. He whipped his head away and blinked at the tears that filled his eyes. Small hands flew up and covered his eyes. Protecting them from the light.

"Sorry, I should have warned you. Here, give your eyes a second to adjust I'm gonna take my hands away but you keep your eyes closed and open 'em real slow." When he opened his eyes she was staring back at him in wonder.

"I can't believe it's you, Logan. How did you ever…? When I left you were just empty, you weren't in there anymore. I thought that was it." The words bubbled out of her. It still didn't make much sense to him. But he could feel her joy, the sense of having a weight lifted from her soul. He could feel it and feel her, that pressure still flowing in his own body. "But you did it didn't you, ya old scoundrel. Yer here and yer you. I'm so glad ya found me. Ya wouldn't believe what I been up to." 

Her face broke into a huge grin as she pulled his head down and kissed his brow and cheeks and scratched her fingers through his whiskers. Logan responded in kind, caught up in warmth she emanated. Warmth turned quickly to heat. He grabbed her up in his arms and planted a firm kiss on her mouth, parting her lips with his own and pushing his tongue into her. He could feel her heart racing and the blood shooting through her body. Then, just as abruptly, she stiffened and pulled back. Whatever connection they had shared was broken. He couldn't feel her anymore. His head cleared but the blood didn't want to return. He tried to look in her eyes but she wouldn't meet his gaze. She was blushing violently. "Sorry again. That was me. I … got a little carried away. It's just the surprise of seeing you again." 

"Uh, ya sure that was just you Darlin'?" His voice was thick and hoarse and his pulse was racing just as hers had been. He still hadn't let her go.

"Really Logan, it was me. You were feeling what I was feeling. Usually I can keep it to myself but if I'm surprised or tired, sometimes it slips out. And then it kinda feeds on itself and gets stronger." Her grin was sheepish now but still there and she dared to return his gaze from the corner of her eye. "I always figured you'd be a real good kisser." 

"So then we weren't … we didn't…?" He knew he must sound like an idiot but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what was going on.

"Logan, I was all of fifteen years old! You ain't that kind of guy. Not now an' not then." She started a bit and looked him full in the eyes. "You don't remember any of this do ya?"

"Sorry, Darlin' not a bit, 'cept yer eyes and that's a part I can't really figure out at all. Why yer eyes and nothin' else?" 

"'Cause that's all you ever saw of me, Logan." 

"Ahem." Kurt cleared his throat. 

"Excuse me, Fraulein. My name is Kurt I'll be taking care of you while you recover. I'm glad to see you awake. It looks like the sleep did you some good." Kurt stood in the doorway and tried not to make any assumptions about the scene before him. Logan hastily set the woman back down onto the bed and stood up. 

"I hope you don't mind stepping out for a bit, Logan? I need to run some tests on the young lady."

"Ah no, that's fine Kurt. I gotta git cleaned up anyway." He turned back to the woman on the bed. "I'd like it if we could talk a bit more. Let me know if ya feel up to it. Anyone here can get me for ya and I'll probably stop by ta check on ya later. You need anything, you let Kurt know. He'll take good care of you." He felt like a schoolboy caught kissing in the coat closet. He avoided the German's gaze as he turned to the door.

"Thanks Logan. I'd be happy to talk to you later. I think we have a lot of catching up to do." She gave him one last smile and watched him leave the room before addressing Kurt. "Hope none of the tests involve blood samples 'cause I don't think I have any left."

Kurt smiled, "I think most of what's in you right now went in through your arm last night, anyway. If I need to test it, I can just get another bag from storage." 

"Perfect," she laughed, "So what do you need?"

"Let's start with your temperature and blood pressure and, if you feel up to it, maybe we can talk about what happened last night." He gingerly took the arm she presented and wrapped a blood pressure cuff around it. Her skin didn't seem to have the same effect as before. This was going better than he had expected. That, in itself was odd. She had been upset enough to attempt suicide last night and now she seemed actually happy.

"My pressure and temp tend to run kinda low so don't be too surprised if they do."

"A little low, yes but nothing off the charts," he murmured one eye on the gauge. "Tell me, do you know what day it is?"

"Sunday, I hope. Otherwise, I've been out longer than I think I have."

"Do you know what your name is?"

Okay, not really, she thought, but better not to get into that yet. "It's Lena Jones."

"Do you know where you are Lena?"

"Haven't the slightest clue. It's some sort of med lab but it's not in any hospital. Judging from your appearance, it's mutant friendly. Am I close?"

"Very," he smiled at her again, "you are at the Xavier Institute in Westchester. Do you know why you're here?"

"Uh, I guess 'cause I took a fairly extreme route out of a dangerous situation?"

"You cut your own jugular vein."

"Yeah, that's another way to put it." She lowered her eyes and studied her hands.

"Why were you so ready to give up your life? You knew the girl wasn't in danger."

"I'd really rather not get into that right now." Or ever, she thought. "Did Kelly get out okay?"

"The little girl? Yes she's fine now, thanks to you. She needed a transfusion but she's going to be alright."

"Oh good." Lena stared off into the distance. Kurt waited until it was clear that she wasn't going to volunteer anything else. 

"We don't have to talk about the rest if you don't want to yet. Tell me, are you hungry?" He looped the stethoscope behind his neck. 

"I should eat."

"Why don't we start you with something light, maybe chicken soup?"

"Sounds great."

"I'll get you some then. If you need anything, just press that buzzer," he indicated the comlink beside the bed with one blue finger, "someone will answer. Ask for me."

"Thanks, Kurt."

Lena looked around the room for the first time and tried to get her bearings. She was wearing a standard hospital gown. Her arms were bruised and cut where the restraining straps had been and she could feel a bandage over the cut on her neck. Still, she was going to be fine after some rest and some food. 

Logan was alive and whole! She couldn't believe it. When she had finally run away from the Program, she had almost been caught because she hadn't wanted to give up on him. She'd tried everything to bring him back and by the time she'd given up she'd been sure that Kovacs had succeeded. There had been no trace of him, no imprints, no patterns nothing left in Logan's body that held his consciousness, no _Logan_ in Logan. But now, he was 100 percent Logan through and through. It was the first time she had been inside of him with a direct interface. Going in through his skin had been like going home again. Guess that's why it caused such a strong reaction, she thought. Her hand touched her lips absentmindedly.

She wondered how much Logan remembered of his time in the Program. She wondered about this place and the German mutant, Kurt. Were there more mutants here? Kurt had called it an institute. That usually meant doctors and researchers which, considering her history, gave her the willies. She hoped Logan had been telling the truth when he said she'd be free to go. She needed to get in touch with her sister and brother, make sure they knew she was okay. She'd ask for her phone when Kurt came back. 

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He left his clothes in a heap by the bed. He'd deal with them later. He wasn't sure that they'd be good for anything but burning, anyway. He stood in the shower and debated whether he needed cold or hot water more. His body was still stiff from sitting but his blood was still racing from that kiss. What the hell had happened anyway? In the grand analysis, he wasn't much further along than he had been when he brought her in. True his eyes were working again and the woman no longer seemed to be a danger to herself. But who was she? How did she know him? What kind of powers did she have that could get him from 0 to 60 in a heartbeat? He shook his head trying unsuccessfully to clear it. Cold, definitely cold, he decided, maybe it'll wake me up too. 


	3. Chapter Two

Full Circle: Reunion

Chapter Two:

Kurt stirred the soup in the pan while Jean made another pot of coffee. 

"You mean you can't read her mind at all?"

"It's more than that, Kurt. I can't even sense her presence. It's as if she weren't there. Either she has some of the best psychic shields I've ever come across or she's not really there and we're all sharing some sort of delusion." 

"I don't think a delusion could bleed that much." Kurt offered dryly. 

"As for what she did to Logan's eyes, I have no idea how she managed it. I couldn't find any evidence of psychic tampering. Somehow, she just shorted them out. I'm not sure I would have ever been able to undo what she did. I'm glad she fixed them." 

"That makes two of us, Red." Logan added from the hallway. 

"Hey Logan, how are you feeling?"

"I been worse. Hope that's high-test yer brewin' there."

"You'd better believe it. I think a few of us were shortchanged in the sleep department last night. Grab a mug." 

Jean wished that the Professor were here already. She had contacted him an hour ago while he was still on the plane from DC. Not being able to get a reading on the woman made her nervous. She hoped he would have better luck.

"So how's the patient, Kurt?" 

"Much better this morning than she was last night. Her vitals are good and with food and rest she should be fine soon. Did she talk to you about why she did what she did last night?"

"Not much, keeps goin' on about how she didn't expect me to be me but now that she knows I'm me she's happy to see me. Doesn't make much sense. I thought I'd give her some time to rest before I tried to talk to her again."

"Why don't you and Jean come down in about a half-an-hour? She should be done with her breakfast by then and perhaps we can get to the bottom of some of this."

"Sounds good, do you need help with that tray?" Jean asked.

Kurt raised an eyebrow at Jean as he used his tail to open the door. "Really Jean, you should know me better by now." He winked at her and spun around, catching the door with one hand while hoisting the tray up in the other. Not a drop of soup slopped out of the bowl on the tray. 

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"Jó étvágyat, Lena." Kurt presented the tray with a flourish.

Lena eyes flashed angrily up at Kurt.

"What did you say?"

"Sorry, you were speaking in Hungarian last night. I thought … well, it doesn't matter. You don't like Hungarian? You spoke it like a native."

"_I'm_ sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. That language has bad associations for me. Can we just stick to English?"

"Certainly. Enjoy, then."

God, Lena, she thought to herself, you gotta get a hold of yourself. The events of the last evening had left her drained and overwhelmed. Hearing that language, the Doctor's language, in a lab with no windows was too close to the past and she had panicked without thinking. It wasn't good for her to feel strong emotions when she was this weak. It could affect her shields. Other people could get hurt. She could get hurt. As she slurped the soup, she tried to relax and center herself. The soup was helping. But still she was nervous.

"Now that you're finished with breakfast, would you mind having some visitors?"

"I guess not. Can I ask you what happened to my clothes and stuff?"

"Well I'm afraid that your clothes are pretty much ruined. We can find something for you to wear until you get home, I'm sure. I can bring the rest of it to you if you'd like."

"Please. I really need my cell phone. There are people who might be worried about me." 

"I'll get it after I take the dishes back to the kitchen." Kurt saw Jean and Logan approaching the door. "Ah, here they are. You know Logan and this is Jean Grey. Jean this is Lena Jones."

Lena, Logan thought, did that sound right? Was it familiar? He looked closely at her for the first time. She was small, her body was lost in the hospital gown. Her blonde hair was disheveled and her ears poked out between the strands. She had a heart-shaped face that was dominated by her large gray eyes and full lips. All together it gave her an elf-like quality. Bruises had blossomed on her arms where the restraining straps had been. She was still pale from the loss of blood.

"How are you doing Lena?" Jean asked.

"A lot better, Miss Grey. I should be able to get out of your hair pretty soon now."

"Call me Jean, please. There's no hurry, you can stay as long as you like."

"Thanks, but I have to get back home as soon as I can."

"Well sure, we won't keep you."

Lena only nodded in response. For a moment, no one spoke. Then Jean broke the silence.

"You gave us quite a scare there last night."

"Sorry about that." Lena said, staring off into the distance.

Right, Jean thought, this is really going well. I can see what Kurt was talking about. Lena doesn't seem very interested in sharing information. 

Professor, are you here yet?

Yes Jean. The woman is with you now?

Yes. Can you feel anything?

Only the slightest presence. Now that I'm not on the road, I can concentrate better. I'm going to try and make contact.

Well good luck, we're not getting very far with talking.

"What … no GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Lena screamed. She bolted up to a standing position on the bed, waving her hands in front of her and shaking her head. "Nooooo!"

"It's alright Lena, he's only trying to help. You tried to hurt yourself last night and we're worried about you." Jean tried to get closer to Lena but the smaller woman was swinging her arms wildly.

"Jeannie, ya better tell the Professor to get out of there. This ain't helping her." Logan moved in to grab Lena.

"Noooooo!" Lena's head snapped back as if she had been shot and she fell to the bed. 

"Oh God, Logan, she's done something to the Professor. He's hurt!"

"I didn't! I wouldn't!" Lena jumped to the floor and had to grab the bed to steady herself. "He shouldn't have been in there. He's hemorrhaging now. I've got to get to him right now or he's going to die. Where is he?" 

"Kurt, get Hank and take him to the Professor's study right away."

"No me, take me to the Professor. I can save him." Lena said.

"Haven't you done enough already?"

"I DIDN"T DO IT, JEAN." Lena screamed. She grabbed Jean's arm. "The man who messed with me, made me what I am, he didn't like people playing with his toys. He did this. Your Professor tripped one of his mines. He's going to die if I don't get to him. Please!"

"Take her up, Kurt." Jean hoped she was doing the right thing.

"Thank you." Lena squeezed Jean's arm. "I'll make this right. I promise."

Kurt teleported himself and Lena to the Professor's study. By the time Hank, Jean and Logan had made it up to the room, Lena was already working on the Professor.

"Jean, you're a telepath like the Professor, right?"

"Yes Lena."

"I need your help." Lena grabbed Jean's bare arm and instantly, Jean saw a display in front of her eyes. "Okay, this chart is my vitals, that one is his." Each chart was highlighted briefly as she spoke. "The acceptable ranges for both are these. If any of this gets out of whack or goes beyond the range, let me know right away. If you can get into his mind, let him know that the cavalry is coming." 

"Got it." 

"Lena, wait, your neck, it's bleeding." Jean pointed to the bandage on Lena's neck. It was saturated and beginning to drip with blood.

"What? Oh Hell. Hang on a sec." Lena's hand flew up to the cut on her neck. She ripped the bandage off and pressed into the wound. "Unnnh!" She grunted as her brow furrowed with the effort. On the charts Jean was monitoring, Lena's reading blossomed like a mushroom cloud, then steadied. When Lena moved her hand away, the wound was gone. "Can't save him if I don't stay alive." She rubbed her hand down the front of her gown to get the blood off of it and placed her hand gently against Xavier's neck. Then she bent her head to his shoulder and closed her eyes. 

An hour later, the Professor was stable. Lena held onto him now, waiting for him to wake, using the time to rest herself. Teleporting was definitely nothing she wanted to try again anytime soon. She couldn't remember when she'd felt this drained.

Dammit, dammit, dammit, she fumed to herself. That wasn't anything but luck. Some of those mines are powerful enough to blast right through bone. Wouldn't have been anything left of him but meat. What kind of maniac just blindly goes into a stranger's head? Fucking telepaths! 

He was stirring now. "Hey there, welcome back from the dead." She cupped his jaw and pulled his face up to look in his eyes. She followed the path of the visual input feeding the data from his eyes to his brain, watched over the synapses as they processed. Damage all gone, she thought, thank God. "How do you feel?"

"Much better thanks to you, I suppose."

"Yeah well, you wouldn't have been hurt if it hadn't been for me. I felt kinda responsible."

"How did you…?"

She covered his mouth with her hand. "You just rest okay?"

She stood up from the crouching position she had held for nearly an hour, waited for the room to stop spinning and tried to stretch the stiffness out of her body. She walked over to the windows of the study and looked over the grounds. Looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. If anybody else plans on getting blown up or cut, she mused to herself, I hope they realize they're on their own. She was bone tired and freezing. Her arms hugged her sides and she shivered visibly.

"Are _you_ okay, Lena?" Jean asked. She had come back from the kitchen with tea for the Professor.

"I'll be fine, Jean." She snapped and instantly regretted her tone. "Aw jeeze, I'm sorry. It's just been a long night. I will be fine though. I know I owe you guys some answers. But," she gestured to her bloodstained gown, "can I catch a shower and maybe get some clothes on first?"

---------------------------------------

Lena sat in a big chair in the study, her legs drawn up underneath her. The shower and change of clothes had done her good. She was more comfortable now, wearing sweats and sneakers. The clothes were still a bit big for her but they were at least a lot warmer than the gown. All of the work she'd been doing was beginning to wear on her. Overusing her powers caused her systems to fail and the first thing to go was usually her metabolism. 

She looked at the rest of the people gathered around the room. The Professor had noticeably improved from when she'd left. He was sitting up and drinking his tea without aid. Jean was sitting next to him, ready to help if he should need it. Even with her red hair tied back and her face creased with worry, she was still one of the most beautiful women Lena had ever seen. Kurt and Henry sat directly in front of her, Henry in a chair like her own and Kurt perched on a divan. Both blue, furry and possessed of an unnatural grace. She wondered if they were related. Logan leaned against the wall beside her chair, his arms crossed over his chest. She could hardly see him out of the corner of her eye but she could feel his dark eyes upon her. They were all looking at her. They were all waiting for her to speak. 

If Logan had chosen to call them friends she couldn't really suspect that she was unsafe here. About the worst she could accuse them of was a startling naiveté. But she had made it this far in her life by trusting very few people and this wasn't easy for her. She took a deep breath and began.

"My name is Lena, it's short for something. I just don't know what and I have no idea at all what my real last name is. I picked Jones 'cause it's common. I was born in Hungary or Romania in 1969 or maybe '70. I lived in a Romanian orphanage until I was 5 or 6 years old. Then I was 'recruited' (their word, not mine) into the Program. I broke out of the Program's compound in 1984 and I've been on the run since then. Not much of a history but it's all I have." 

"What was the Program?" Hank asked.

"Practical applications of mutant powers to modern security and covert ops. They were trying to create super soldiers and super spies. But what the guy who ran it really wanted to concentrate on was the tech arm of the program. That was me and other mutants like me. The soldiers and spies just kept the money coming in." 

"What was a tech?" Xavier prompted.

"Mutants with telekinetic and projective talents. You've seen some of what I can do. I don't only heal people; I can hurt them just as easily. I can change them. I can improve them. In the end they made me into a machine that could turn out super mutants or super humans or whatever you wanted." She stared down at her crossed arms, hating to have to share these memories.

"How do you know Logan?" Jean asked.

She looked briefly from Logan to Jean. "Look, Jean, I know Logan doesn't remember this and I'd rather not get into it until I've had a chance to tell him privately first."

"Why do I only remember your eyes?" Logan asked. He appreciated her respect for his privacy but he couldn't wait any longer to figure this part out. 

"Because that was the only part of me that you could see through the faceplate of my rig."

"Rig?" Kurt asked.

"The machine I was built into." She looked around at a room full of confused expressions and sighed. "When I said they turned me into a machine, I wasn't being metaphorical." She swept her long hair away from her neck, tugged the back of her sweatshirt down and turned her back to the group. "See, this used to be where I was attached." A ragged cross of scar tissue decorated her neck and shoulders. She could hear gasps of shock coming from her audience. "I kept one I/O port. It comes in handy. " She passed her hand across the nape of her neck and a small flap of skin popped up to reveal something that looked like a computer port.

"Oh my stars and garters." Henry exclaimed. He got up to take a closer look. The scar ran up and down from the nape of her neck to just below the shoulder blades and about three inches in either direction where it crossed side to side at the top of her back. He could see small, regular, round depressions that he guessed had been other ports. It looked like something had been ripped out from under the skin.

Logan wondered how she had gotten the other ports out. From the looks of the scar, it couldn't have been pleasant. Lena's face was turned away from everyone but him. He was the only one who saw the single tear slide down her cheek as Henry examined her. When she turned back to the group, her face was composed and the tear was gone. 

"I hope this helps you all to understand, why I was willing to die before I let them get me." She smiled wistfully. "I don't really want to die but I can't let myself be used like that ever again." 

She turned to the Professor. "So is that good enough? Can I trust you not to go roaming through my head now that I've opened up to you?" She smiled wanly.

"Believe me, we'll make sure that none of the telepaths make that mistake."

"Great. Now I still need to make some phone calls. Is there somewhere I could go to get some privacy?"

"There's a conference room down the hall. Feel free to use it."

"Thank you, Professor." Lena grabbed her cell phone and headed to the conference room.

She was stopped at the door by a tall man in red glasses. "Are you Lena Jones?"

"Yes what is it?"

"We just received some information that the police are looking for you in connection with last night's attack. Apparently they're circulating this sketch based on the girl's description of you." Scott held up a fax of the sketch. It was a fairly accurate likeness.

What little color Lena had managed to gather, drained from her face. Without looking at the phone, she hit the speed-dial and brought it up to her ear.

"Hola."

"Cay Cay, it's me. Are you in the apartment?"

"LANIE, thank-freekin'-god. Where the hell are jou?" 

"ARE YOU IN THE APARTMENT?" She screamed into the phone. Her hands were shaking.

"No I'm outside Mayview Center." 

"Mayview? What's going on?"

"It's Annie, Lena. She … Jesus … she tried to hurt herself. She took some pills. I don't know if she did it on purpose or not. But now they've got her an' they won't let me see her. Jou gotta get down here right now." 

"Oh God!" Lena tried to think of what to do. "Caleb, listen to me. Go to Travis' place and wait for me there. Don't go back to the apartment. You hear me? Stay away from our place, okay?"

"Travis is still in Tokyo, M'ija. He ain't goin' to help." 

"SHIT! … Okay meet me at the place we met Tico and promise me that you won't go back to the apartment until I get there."

"Okay Lanie. Jeeze, enough with the apartment already, I'll stay away. When jou gonna be at the meet?" 

"Logan, how far are we from New York City?"

"'Bout an hour." 

"I'll be there in an hour. Hang tight, M'ijo." Lena closed the phone and looked up at the Professor. She hated asking for favors but she didn't really have a choice.

"Professor, I need some help. You've all said that I'm welcome to stay here if I want. What if I brought two more mutants with me? They're just kids and if anyone's looking for me they might be in danger."

"Lena, you don't need to explain. That's what we're here for. Are you going to need help getting them down here?" He could puzzle enough out of her side of the phone conversation to realize that there was danger involved already.

"Yes, I need a van and two people. Does anyone here know how to pick locks?"

That was Logan's cue. "I got this one Charlie. Somebody call Gumbo and tell him to meet us in the garage. C'mon Lena." He took her arm and steered her out of the room. He'd been able to hear both sides of the conversation and shared her concerns. "Who are these kids?"

"They're my sister and brother. They live with me. If the wrong people notice the police search, they're in as much danger as I am. Annie's in trouble enough already and now she's a sitting duck trapped in that hospital."

"Don't worry Lena. We'll get them out." Logan assured her.

By now they had gotten to the garage. A tall man was waiting for them looking disheveled.

"Dis betta be good mon homme. Jeanie woke me from a soun' sleep."

"Lena, this is Remy. Remy, this is Lena. C'mon Cajun, we'll fill you in on the way."

------------------------------------------------

Caleb checked his pocket watch again. She still had five minutes. He scanned the sidewalk from his table. It was in the outdoor seating of a small coffee shop. Still no Lanie. He rubbed his face and took another sip of coffee. Come on Lanie, he wondered to himself, where are you?

He'd been on the phone since the morning. When he couldn't find Lena, he'd decided to work on the problem himself. That had led him to track down a friend who had laid wiring for the network at Mayview. From him, Cay had gotten a fairly good idea of how the psychiatric hospital was laid out. He also knew where the network terminals were. He sighed and pulled the pen out from behind his ear and started writing on the napkin. Better sketch it out while it's still fresh in my mind, he thought.

She saw him as she rounded the corner. He was busy jotting something down so he didn't notice her right away. There were circles under his eyes and day's growth of stubble on his chin. Most of his long, wavy, brown hair was caught up in a ponytail but a few ragged strands were simply tucked behind his ears. His thin frame slumped in the chair. She knew he probably hadn't slept last night. His standard uniform of baggy khakis, white tank top and open, silk shirt was even more wrinkled than usual. She was glad that she had made the guys wait in the van. He looked like one more surprise would have done him in.

"Hey, amigo. This seat taken?"

"Lanie! Madre de Dios! Lena, wha' happened to you?" Caleb often teased his big sister about her fair skin but he had never seen her looking so pale. "Sit down before you fall down, M'ija."

"I'm fine Cay Cay. I just had a bad night."

"Jah, there's a lotta that goin' round right now."

"What are you working on?"

"I tracked down some info on how Mayview is laid out."

She squeezed his hand. "Good work, M'ijo. You can show me what you've come up with in the van."

"What van?"

"I … um … ran into someone last night. That's why I didn't come home. He's a guy I know from a long time ago." She tried to sneak a look at his face but he was staring right at her. His expression was hard.

"I thought it was supposed to be just us, Lanie?"

"Yeah well, we aren't all here right now. If Travis or Goto were here, we wouldn't need any help but they aren't and we do…And not just for getting Annie either."

"What's goin' on, Lanie?" His voice was as controlled as his expression; neither of them betrayed the panic rising in him. Lanie was in trouble. He'd been so busy worrying about Annie that he hadn't had time to think of the implications of Lena's absence. 

She didn't know a good way of telling him that his life was about to change drastically. She'd been dreading this moment from the time she had taken him in. "Remember how I told you that people were after me? How someday, we'd probably have to run?"

"Jes. Wha' happened, Lanie. Is this guy one of them?"

"No, no he's a friend … it's just that … I ran into something I couldn't walk away from yesterday. Someone's life was in danger … and I had to use my power … and now … I guess now the police are looking for me. I'm sorry, but we can't stay here." 

"Well les go then." He stuffed the napkin in his shirt pocket and grabbed his bag.

"Okay, M'ijo." She squeezed his arm again but he wouldn't look at her. She couldn't tell if he was angry or if he was trying to be strong for her. She hoped that he would be okay. 

--------------------------------------

They were all at the apartment now. Lena and Caleb were packing as Lena went over the plan of action for getting Annie. "We need to get her and we need to make sure all electronic and hardcopy files on her are destroyed. We'll break into two teams. Remy and I will get in the back entrance by the loading docks. There's a system terminal in a small office near the laundry room that's used mostly for inventory. This time of night, it should be pretty empty. I'll go in and get rid of anything they have on Annie. Remy can watch my back while I work."

"Caleb, you'll go in the front entrance with Logan, you need to get Annie and all of her charts. Check the nurse's station too. When you're done, this stairway," she pointed to the floor plan they had transposed from the napkin to a large white board, "goes straight to the back entrance. We'll regroup there and then leave together. Questions?"

"Lena, why don't you let the kid stay in the van? I can take care of all that by myself. No sense putting another person at risk." And Logan didn't feel like babysitting. The kid had a real attitude problem. Logan didn't want to put up with it while he was trying to take care of a little girl too. He didn't much like the idea of Lena going in either, now that he thought about it. She looked awfully pale and tired.

"How jou gonna find her huh, Jefe? Jou don' even know what she look like. Why don't jou stay in the damn van." Caleb didn't need this right now. He wondered who this guy thought he was. 

"I don't need ta know what she looks like, kid." He growled. "I can get her scent from her clothes." 

"Lena, really, the Cajun and I can handle this whole thing. You two can stay safe in the van." 

"No we can't, Logan. I'm sure you and Remy could handle this but it'll take you a lot longer and we don't have time. Caleb can take care of himself. So can I. We both have talents that will come in handy. Trust me."

"Jah, Ese, jou ain't got no call to ac' like you babysittin'."

"Look, kid, I've about had it with you."

"Jou about had it wit' me, huh? Oh that's good. Who the hell do you think you are, Jefe?" They were about three feet apart and closing fast. Lena stepped between them. 

"That's it you two, I mean it. I've got to a little girl to save and if you can't help me then you'd better stay the hell out of my way." 

"Jeeze Lanie, I din' say I wasn't gonna help. She's my sister too you know." Caleb stomped angrily to the computer room and began shoving gear into a duffel bag. 

"Dammit," Lena whispered under her breath. She walked over to Caleb. "Look, Cay, I know you're upset too. I'm sorry. I shouldn't be yelling at you. I'm the one who taught you not to trust anyone and here I am bringing two strangers into the fold. All I can say is, we really do need their help." She put her hand on his shoulder. "In the end, it's not about whether or not you trust them; it's about whether or not you trust me.

He didn't look at her but he said, "C'mon Lanie, let's go get hermanita. If jou think these guys can help … I guess we better take 'em." 

She squeezed his arm. "Thanks, Caleb. She turned back to the men in the living room. "Alright, gentlemen. If everybody carries something, we can be out of here in one trip. Let's move out." 

As they carried bags and gear down the stairs, Lena whispered to Logan, "He's a good kid, Logan. Give him a chance, please?"

The most important thing to her right now was the little girl. He knew that and he knew that whatever was between him and the boy could be taken up later. So he let it go for the time being. "It'll be okay, Lena. Caleb and I, we'll get Annie back. Don't worry."

Once the van was packed, they headed to the hospital.


	4. Chapter Three

Full Circle: Reunion

Chapter Three:

Caleb went in first. He found a seat and grabbed a magazine. As he pretended to read, he started watching for the right moment. Logan entered the waiting room a few moments after Cay. As the sharp-eyed nurse left for her break, Cay caught Logan's eye and nodded towards the corridor that led to the restrooms. Logan headed in that direction and Cay followed shortly.

All right, Logan admitted to himself, the kid was no fool. The nurse would have been immediately suspicious of their actions. The orderly she had left behind wouldn't have noticed a bomb going off. Cay had been smart enough to wait it out.

Unfortunately, it was all going to be for naught because the access door they needed to get through was locked and alarmed.

"I knew we should'a kept the Cajun with us. What are you gonna do about the door, Bub? I can force it but the alarm'll go off. That's not gonna give us a lotta time before we get company and we still ain't even sure which room this girl's in."

A faint smile touched the corners of Caleb's mouth as he moved his hand to the electronic lock's keypad. He half-closed his eyes and let the signal come to him. There was the pattern, tingling in his fingers. He punched the numbers into the keypad. A soft buzz whirred in the lockbar mechanism. Caleb pushed the bar and the door opened inward. He went in and held the door open for Logan. As the older man stalked by, Cay couldn't resist getting a bit of his own back.

"That's ah, _Mister _Bub to jou, Okay Jefe?"

"Not funny, Kid."

"Oh come on, jes it is. Even jou gotta admit it. 'Sides, why you think Lanie sent me wit'you? Jou think she figure I'm so pretty I might stop you from frightening all the nurses an' gettin' us caught?"

Logan kept his head bent down, hoping Cay wouldn't see the smile spreading across his face. He had to admit the kid had a lot of style.

They actually did end up making a good team. Cay chatted up the candy-striper working at the nurse's station while Logan swiped Annie's chart and Logan made sure the way was clear as Cay carried Annie to the meeting point. 

-------------------------------------------

Remy signaled back to Lena who came out from behind the dumpster and headed toward him at the door by the loading dock. She had grabbed a black, hooded sweatshirt at the apartment and she blended easily into the shadows. Something about the way she moved told the Cajun that this wasn't her first time sneaking around. Even in this cluttered alley, she never made a sound.

"Okay, Chere," He whispered, "It's showtime." The door popped open but the alarm stayed silent. Lena raised her eyebrows and nodded her head at him to indicate her approval. They moved silently to the office. 

Once there, Lena pulled a cable from the pocket of her sweatshirt and jacked herself into the terminal. Finding a weak point in the system wasn't hard at all. The inventory program didn't require a password and it didn't take very long to find a way into the password-protected system from there. She was done in five minutes. 

Remy, intent on watching the hallway, didn't even see her come up behind him. Now it was his turn to be impressed.

"You done already, Chere? Dat din' take long. Guess we betta stroll on over to the stairway and see if de boys managed not to kill each other, non?"

"They won't if they know what's good for 'em. I'll kick their asses." She winked at Remy. It was, of course, false bravado. Lena needed Remy's support just to walk to the meeting place. She wouldn't be up to kicking anybody's anything for a long time. All she could think about was sleep.

Annie had been heavily sedated. Lena was going to have to go inside and clean her out. It wasn't going to be easy and in the back of the van, she let Caleb help her set up. 

"What jou wanna listen to Lena?" Caleb asked flipping through the CD's.

"Slow, anything slow."

"'Kay, I got it." He eased back into the nest of jackets he'd made up against the van's back seat and grabbed the blanket he'd brought from home. The first notes of Concrete Blonde's cover of Little Wing started coming from the boom box. Lena smiled, the song was one of her favorites and there were a lot of other good ones on the album. She found the rhythm and went with it. Music made it easier to work. It gave her something to follow. Now all she had to do was stay warm.

Once Cay was settled in, he gestured to her and she cuddled up against him, using him as a backrest. They both pulled Annie onto Lena's lap and Cay covered them all with the blanket. 

"All right M'ija, do your stuff." He kissed her lightly on the back of her head.

"Dat has got to be de cutest ting Remy seen in a long time."

"Ain't supposed to be cute, Ese. Lanie can' stay warm when she this beat. If she get too cold, she go into shock. Believe me, you don' wanna deal wi'that." 

The rest of the trip passed in silence for the most part.

Once Logan and Remy heard what had to be Annie's voice. "Enough with the slow stuff. Play me something fast before I fall asleep."

"Wrong mouth, Lena." Caleb mumbled wearily in Spanish as he punched up 'Roses Grow.'

"Oh crap," This time Lena spoke from her own mouth. She waited to make sure that Annie wouldn't react. "S'okay M'ijo, she's too out of it to push back."

When they finally pulled into the garage at the institute. Annie was sleeping soundly and, at least physically, well on her way to recovery. Lena, on the other hand, was a mess. She was shaking from cold and barely hanging onto consciousness. She felt like vomiting and she wasn't entirely sure where she was. She clung tightly to her brother as Henry and Kurt got Annie out of the van. With what remained of her strength, she lunged out and grabbed Annie by the wrist. Annie's psychic presence bloomed in the Professor's mind like a television flickering to life.

"Can you feel her, Professor?"

"Yes, Lena. Don't worry, we'll take good care of her."

Lena collapsed back into Caleb's chest. He rocked her and sang to her under his breath. 

"Hermanito, I want you to go with Annie. Don't wan' her waking up in a room full of strangers."

"Who's gonna take care of you then, Lanie? I can't be in two places at once."

"I've got her, Caleb. You go on with your little sister." Logan told him.

"Jefe, do you even know the first thing about takin' care of Lena when she like this?"

"What's to know, I'm just gonna put her to bed."

"Jah great and when she wake up in an hour with screaming nightmares and can't eat for a week, then what you gonna do?"

"Caleb, just tell 'em what he needs to do." Lena's voice was barely a whisper.

He sighed. He knew he was going to have to let it go. "Right, Care an' feedin' of the Lanie Jones. Okay, jou gotta do t'ree things before you let her sleep. First, jou gotta get her back to room temperature. Jou gonna have to hold her like I was till she get warm. Second, jou gotta get somethin' in her belly. She should have soup but she'll probably want hot tea. She gotta have at leas' two cups but she'll fight you 'cause she's queasy. Careful, Jefe, she bites." He held his finger up to the light so that Logan could see the tooth-shaped scar near the tip of it. "T'ird, jou gotta help her get situated in her head. She been moving her mind from one body to the another too much an' if she don't get settled, she'll have them nightmares I was tellin' you about."

"How do I do that?"

"Jou jus' gotta talk to her tha's all. Jou'll know she's back by the way she talks. She'll be able to focus better."

"Got it." Logan reached into the van to pick Lena up. Cay's hand shot out and caught Logan's wrist.

"One more thing, Ese. Don' touch her skin. If you do, jou gonna feel exactly what she's feelin' then you won't be no good to her at all." Caleb carefully wrapped Lena up in the blanket before handing her over to Logan. "Soon as Annie wakes up and I get her all settled, I'll take over for you."

"Right, I promise ya kid, I'll take good care of her. C'mon Lena. As I recall we have some talkin' ta do anyway."

--------------------------------------------

He carried her through the kitchen, stopping to ask Jean to make a pot of tea and bring it to him in the study. Lena shivered and tucked herself as tightly as she could into his chest. He picked the study because he knew there was a fire burning there and because it was more private than the larger common rooms. 

Soon they were settled in front of the fire. Lena's skin was like ice, he could feel it even through the blanket. She was shivering so hard that Logan had to hold the teacup for her. Finally the tea, the fire and his own body heat started working. Now they could finally talk and Logan didn't know where to begin.

"So you …worked on me?"

"Yeah, I was your tech…you were contract work…brought you in special…but nobody could handle you." She wasn't settled in yet. Her mind drifted as she spoke. She had trouble focusing her eyes and moving her mouth. Her voice was very soft.

"What do ya mean, handle?"

"Your friends'll surprised by this I'm sure, but you're pretty much stubborn right down to the cellular level." She smiled at her own joke and was happy to see the smile reflected in his face. "No one else was good enough to take you on. They'd try to change you and the changes wouldn't stick. They'd push you and you'd push back. You gave all the other techs nosebleeds and black eyes. But me, I was the best. I never had trouble with you. So they assigned me to you full-time." There was a bit of pride in her voice. She had enjoyed being good at what she did.

"What did you do to me?"

"Stopped your body from rejecting the adamantium. That was a big job. Tightened up your reflexes…increased your visual range…improved your balance…lots of stuff…" 

He could feel her choosing her words. She was holding back. He hesitated; not knowing how to ask the next question, not sure that she would answer. 

"Did you tamper with my memories?"

She looked away from him. She closed her eyes. "Not directly, I was there…Kovacs…by that time, the rig was set up to over-ride my control. He just used me like a machine. Didn't have any choice…couldn't stop him. I'm so sorry, Logan. I brought you so much pain." And if you hate me for it, she thought to herself, I'll understand. 

Tears fell from her eyes. Her face was wet with them. She ignored them and stared off into the fire. 

He hated to see the tears stream down her face. Hated the way she refused to acknowledge them like she didn't have a right to her own pain. He knew she blamed herself but he certainly didn't. It was important to him that she understand that.

She expected him to stiffen or turn away from her but he didn't. He pulled her even closer and tucked her head to his chest. "Shush now, Darlin'. It wasn't you. I just…had to know is all. I didn't mean ta make ya relive it." 

Kindness, it was the last thing she expected. It brought down every wall she had. The silent tears became sobs and her body shook with them. He rocked her gently as she cried. When the tears finally stopped, he grabbed a corner of the blanket and dried her face. 

"It's okay, Lena. Here, drink some more tea."

"Don't want it."

"I don't care. I promised yer little brother I'd get ya to drink two cups and you're barely half-way through the first." He held the cup up to her lips. "And don't get any funny ideas about biting me. I'll bite ya back."

The mock threat brought a smile to her face and despite the growing disquiet in her stomach she drank the rest of the tea. It was helping. The room was spinning less and Lena began to feel anchored in her body again.

"Did he do okay with you tonight? I know he was being a pain…but he's not used…we don't get close with too many people…I've taught him to be suspicious…ya know?"

"He did fine, Lena. You'da been proud of him."

"Oh good, I was worried."

"Yeah, well…I guess we didn't get off on the right foot but I have to admit, he is a good kid; he did pull his weight, and there's no doubt he cares a whole lot about his sisters." That reminded him of something else he had wanted to ask. "So Lena, I couldn't help but notice that Caleb is Puerto Rican."

"Yep."

"And Annie, is she Filipina?"

"Yep."

"So uh…"

"How is it that we're all brother and sisters?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"We're family by choice not by blood. Both Annie and Caleb are orphans. After what happened to me, I couldn't leave them in an orphanage. If anyone ever found out what they were…well I just couldn't let that happen. It's all reasonably official. I did some mucking around in the Child Welfare computer systems and unless someone takes a real hard look at the files, no one's ever going to question it. I don't know if you've ever seen the average case load a state social worker has to carry, but I can assure you that it'll be a long time before any of 'em has time to look into this." 

"Probably some time after Annie goes to college." He speculated.

"I can only hope."

"So how come she…" She stiffened in his arms and he could tell he'd hit another touchy subject.

"Tried to kill herself?"

"Yeah."

"Annaleah is precognitive to a high degree of accuracy. Her first premonition was that her entire family would die in a fire. She never told anyone because she thought it was just a bad dream. Well, they all did die in that fire and Annie…she never forgave herself…she was seven years old. The psychologists gave her antidepressants and the foster home gave her very little supervision. By the time she was nine, she was addicted to smack. Caleb knew her from the neighborhood. He got me involved. I could get rid of the addiction but…I couldn't do anything about the pain. Sometimes…I don't know…I can't reach her…can't…" 

Lena's voice cracked and Logan though for a moment that she might cry again. The moment passed and Lena composed herself. She refused to dump this pain on him too. This was hers to bear. She had chosen to take responsibility for Annie, she would deal with the consequences, whatever they were. 

He made her drink more tea. It sounded to him like she was focusing better. Her voice was stronger and he realized for the first time how much he liked the sound of it. It was low and a little rough. When she relaxed, it eased into a pleasant sort of twang he couldn't place. When she spoke softly, as she was now, the roughness intensified and he could feel her words as much as hear them. 

"How're ya feelin' now, Lanie? Ya seem to be warmer at least. Are ya…what'd the kid call it? Situated?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "I'm situated. I'm warmer and I think I'm going to be able to keep the tea down too. Not bad considering the past couple days."

"Yeah, we sure been busy ain't we?"

"Oh Lord," Lena exclaimed, "you haven't slept since Friday night have you?" She reached up, touched his cheek and looked into his eyes. She only scanned lightly but she could feel the fatigue and the hunger. "When's the last time you ate?"

"I ate this morning, Lena. I'll be fine." He was embarrassed by her concern. He hadn't meant to imply that he'd been going through anything like what she had. He just…well, he thought about it…just liked thinking of her and himself being a team, a _we_. He grabbed her hand and pulled it away from his face. "Really, Lena. Don't worry about me. You shouldn't be touching me anyway, Caleb said it wasn't safe."

"Oh bother what Cay Cay said." She wrinkled up her face in exasperation. "It's okay now anyway. I'm not live anymore." 

"What's that mean? Ya mean how I can't feel what yer feelin' right now just by touchin' ya?"

"Yeah."

"Well that's only part of it as far as I'm concerned. I know ya were looking into me when you touched my face and you can't be strong enough for that yet. So you best just cut it out right now."

"Yessir!" She smiled wryly.

"I'm gonna take care of you whether you like it or not, Lena. I promised the kid" He bent closer to her ear and spoke low. "'Sides us people with only one name oughta watch out for each other." 

She pulled away from him so that she could look into his eyes. "One name?"

"Yeah, Logan and Lena, that's only one apiece."

"Oh, I uh…"

"What is it Lena?"

"It's…." she paused and looked back up at him. "It's John."

"Huh?"

"Your name, John Logan. It's…well…you told me it was John…back in the program. Even then, you always went by Logan. I just assumed. Well, you might have been pulling my leg. You told a lot of tall tales back then."

"No, Lena. You're right…don't know how I know it but I do and you're right. I don't know how to…" his voice trailed off for a moment, "Thank you, Lena. You don't know how much that means to me." She looked away coloring slightly. He grabbed her chin and gently lifted her face to see her eyes once more. He wanted to kiss her. But he couldn't tell if she wanted him to. The signals were crossed somehow. Then he smelled what was unmistakably fear and he backed off, settling for kissing her cheek. He wondered what had spooked her. 

"Hey Lanie, there jou are. How you doin', hermana?" Caleb walked into the room. He still looked tired and rumpled but his mood seemed much better. 

"This is my third cup." She told him, pointing at the tea proudly.

"That's my Lanie-girl. Good job." He ruffled his hand through her hair. Then he looked at Logan; "Three cups and jou still have all your fingers? Not bad, Jefe."

"Yeah well I wasn't about to give you anything ta complain about."

"How's Annie?" Lena asked.

"She good. She woke up. I talked to her so she knows she's safe. She went back to sleep. We should prob'ly do the same."

"I'm with ya on that, partner." She got up gingerly with Logan and Caleb's support. Caleb pulled her arm over his shoulder and wrapped his arm around her waist. Before Caleb pulled her completely away, Lena reached back to touch Logan's arm. "Thanks for everything, Logan. I owe you one, more than one really." He put his hand over hers and squeezed it gently.

"Yeah, Logan. Thanks for your help." Caleb offered his hand roughly, not meeting the older man's gaze.

Caleb had actually used his name. Logan guessed that he was trying to bury the hatchet. So he took Caleb's hand and shook it. "No problem, Caleb. You go on and get your sister to bed. I think they put you in guestrooms on the second floor. Can you handle getting her up stairs?"

Caleb snorted softly. "I just finished carrying bags up there that weigh more'n Lanie. Don't worry about it." 

Logan put out the fire and took the teapot and cup back to the kitchen. He knew he should head to bed himself but he was too restless. He stepped out into the night and lit a cigar. As he walked toward the lake, he reflected on the events of the past day. His thoughts never strayed far from Lena. As the first lights of the coming dawn graced the sky, Logan finally turned back to the house. He pulled off his boots and collapsed into bed and a fitful sleep.


	5. Chapter Four

Full Circle: Reunion

Chapter Four:

"Well really it's just routine. We like to give every mutant that comes here a thorough medical exam. Many of them don't get access to adequate care because they're afraid of exposure." Hank tried to explain it as non-threateningly as possible. "I know your experience has to have made you a bit skittish about doctors but I can assure you that no one will hurt you or do anything to you against your will."

"It's fine, Hank. You're right, it's probably a good idea for all of us actually. I just have one condition."

"What is it, Lena?"

"I want all copies of the records so that I can destroy them personally. I don't want you keeping any of it on file."

"Lena, it's all protected. Security's very tight here."

"The best security is not having anything to find. I'm sorry, Hank. It may be paranoid but I'm not budging on this point. You can examine Annie and Caleb and me but you can't keep any files on us, no hardcopy, no softcopy."

"All right then," he sighed, "no records of any kind. Can you meet me in the examining room in a half an hour?"

"No problem."

The examination went well. Lena didn't hold back and Hank hoped it meant that she was finally coming to trust him a bit more. 

"Do you always get sick to your stomach when you use your power?"

"Pretty much so. I mean not when I'm in passive mode but yeah, anytime I consciously use it, I get sick."

"How much of your power manifests without conscious control?"

"The skin thing is always on."

"So you always can see into a person by touching them?"

"Yeah, I've gotten good at ignoring it for the most part. Oh, it's also always on in the other direction."

"You mean people being able to see into you?  


"Yeah but I can usually control it unless I'm stressed."

"You know it's a bit strange that you have trouble eating after exercising your powers. Most mutants get hungrier."

"Hopefully when the test results come back, you'll have a better idea of what they did to me. It's hard for me to tell because one of the first things they did was to prevent me from going into myself."

"So you can't heal yourself?"

"Not without a lot of pain, there's a negative reinforcement chain set up inside me."

"Pardon?"

"If I try to heal myself or shift my consciousness into my body, it hurts and the harder I push, the worse it gets."

"My God, why did they do that?"

"For the same reason the doctor put mines in my head. They didn't want me to be able to undo what they did. And…um…it also kept me from …regressing." She bit her lip and looked down at her toes.

"Regressing? Regressing into what?"

"When you have the kind of powers I do and they manifest as early as mine did, you tend to have trouble interacting with the outside world. I…I was diagnosed autistic. That's how the doctor found me. He knew what to look for. The negative reinforcement was set up to keep me from regressing back into an autistic state, going into my own body and staying there."

"I see, Lena. Tell you what, I think this is enough for today. Let me take some time to evaluate the test results and we'll get together again soon."

"Okay." She slid off of the examining table without looking up.

"And Lena."

"Yeah."

"Thanks for putting up with all of this." He squeezed her shoulder. 

"It's okay, Henry." She paused a moment before going on. "This is the first time I've ever been able to talk about it. As much as it hurts now, I think it's going to be a good thing in the end." She smiled quickly at him and left the room before the tears started falling from her eyes.

Henry did his best to pretend not to see the tears. It made him sick inside to think about what had been done to her. To think that while all those horrors had been perpetrated upon Logan, there had been a 15-year-old girl trapped in the middle of it. Now that he had scans and x-rays he could begin to see the extent of the work. He started trying to puzzle out all of the modifications.

---------------------------------

"Hey Jean."

"Hi Lena. How are you doing?"

"Not bad, I just got done with Hank so I thought I'd grab something to eat. I guess I'm a bit late for breakfast."

"Don't worry, there's all sorts of stuff in the fridge. Don't let me hold you back, I was just about to leave anyway."

"Don't, Jean…I mean…don't leave on my account. We should probably talk anyway."

"What about?"  


"Oh about the fact that you're as nervous as a long-tail cat in a roomful of rockers every time you have to be near me." Lena looked into Jean's eyes and smiled.

"Lena, that's not true I…just…"

Lena held up her hand. "It's okay, Jean. I'm not much better around you. But I want to be. It's just not easy for me to trust telepaths and I guess it must be hard for you to trust someone you can't scan at all."

"I guess there's some truth to that." Jean's curiosity got the better of her. "Do you…did you know this from scanning me? Can you use your telepathy through your shields?"

"Well no it's just kind of obvious…uh," she stopped for a moment and looked up from the oatmeal she was stirring to focus on Jean, "I'm not telepathic at all, Jean. I guess I thought you knew that but I can see how you would interpret it that way."

"You aren't a telepath? How does your power work then? You have to at least be an empath don't you?"

"It doesn't work that way. It's more like an extended sensory input. When you touch my skin, information immediately starts streaming in but it's all just body noise it's not psychic in nature."

"I don't follow."

"You get temperature, blood flow, various chemical tags, that sort of stuff. If you know how to analyze it you can interpret it correctly, otherwise, your body just interprets it the way it would if it were happening inside you."

"So when you fed me the images of those charts?"

"That's why I picked you. As a telepath, you're more flexible when it comes to that kind of information. When I gave you the inputs, it was easy for you to envision a chart. You do the same thing all the time with psychic data."

"And when people feel what you're feeling?"

"They're actually getting the chemical signatures of my emotions and interpreting them the way they would if their body put out those chemicals."

"So when Logan kissed you…"

Lena's face brightened into a blush. "He was interpreting my emotions in his way, I tried to explain it to him but I'm not sure he understood. How did you know about it?"

"Kurt mentioned it."

"That's right he walked in on us. How embarrassing, It was my fault for not realizing how overwhelming Logan would be." 

Jean grinned. "Yes, Logan certainly has an effect on most women."

"Well yeah, that too, I guess, but I just meant the way he feels."

Jean stared at her blankly.

"You know what I mean, touching him is such a rush. It's better than drugs, or roller coasters or just about anything I've ever experienced." Lena enthused.

"I thought that's what we _were_ talking about?"

Lena smiled as she realized why Jean missed the point. "You still think I'm talking about sexual attraction don't you? I guess telepaths don't experience what I'm talking about."

Somewhere between hearing his own name and the phrase better than roller coasters and the term sexual attraction, Logan decided he had to know more about what was going on in the kitchen. 

"Mornin' ladies. Either o' you want enlighten me as to why my ears are burning so hot?"

Lena flashed a devilish grin at Jean. "Well actually Logan, I could use your help in a demonstration over here."

"What cha need, Darlin'?" He smiled at her wolfishly.

"Just your hand. Don't worry it won't hurt." She lightly grabbed Jean's exposed wrist. "Okay, Jean, that's me. Feel it? I'm a little bit tired, there's my pulse, and there's my brain activity. Pretty normal right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, this," Lena grabbed Logan's wrist with her free hand, "is Logan."

Immediately, Jean felt all of the input she had been receiving at least quadruple. Several strong rhythms thundered in her ears and through her chest. A sense of amusement, joy in contact, barely contained energy seemed to flow through her body and the room was suddenly alive. Jean heard, smelled, saw, felt and tasted as Logan did.

"Whoa, Mama!"

The contact broke as Lena started to laugh hysterically. Then Jean joined her in her laughter. They both tried to compose themselves to explain what was going on to Logan. But the expression on his face just set them to laughing again. Finally, Lena managed to squeak out. "Don't sweat it Loge, I was just showin' Jeannie what a stud ya are." At that point, Jean actually collapsed out of her chair with laughter and it was several minutes before the two of them could calm down.

"If you two are finished, I wouldn't mind knowing exactly what the hell you were up to."

"I'm sorry, Logan." Lena brushed the hair out of her eyes. "Apparently, Kurt mentioned our little tryst in the med lab to Jean. I just wanted her to know why it was so easy to get carried away." She looked back at Jean. "See I told ya, pretty overwhelming, huh?" 

"Like Christmas morning for an eight-year-old! I've never felt anything like that before."

"Yeah but the scary thing is neither have I and I've been in a lot of people. He's the alive-est living thing I've ever experienced. I don't even think you need special powers. I mean, have you ever felt his pulse? It's like a goddamned bell."

"Well yeah, I guess I noticed that. Like, if you stand next to him when it's quiet, you can actually hear his heartbeat."

"Exactly!"

"Okay, Ladies that's enough. Stop talkin' about me like I'm not in the room. It's disconcerting."

Lena's cheeks colored and she looked down at the floor. "Sorry, you're just … so…"

"So what, Lena?"

She looked up at him shyly, "_cool_, Logan." Her smile widened into a guilty grin.

"Well I guess I'm glad o' that but I'm not sure if I should stay around here and feel flattered or high-tail it for the hills. Yer both lookin' at me like I'm what's for dinner."

That snapped Jean out of her reverie. "You're right, I'm sorry, Logan." She checked her watch. "I have to get to the Professor's study, anyway. Lena," She grabbed Lena's hand, "I'm glad we talked. You were right, but I think that now it's out in the open we can work on it together. I do want us to trust each other."

"Good, Jean. That's what I was hoping to hear." 

As Jean left the room, Logan went down on his haunches in front of Lena's chair so that he could look in her eyes. "Hey there, don't ya ever do that to me again. Ya made me feel like a dog and pony show." He grinned at her.

"Cry me a river, Bub. Jeeze, I can make it so women get their jollies just by touching you and you consider that somethin' bad? I know a lot of guys who'd kill for that kind of trouble." She winked at him, her eyes dancing. 

"Don't need any help givin' women their jollies, Lena." His face was only inches from hers but again the signals got fuzzy and he backed away. "So, uh, do ya always feel me when you touch me?" 

"Yeah but I have better control than Jean does. So I can usually keep it from getting to be too intense."

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "So what can you tell from touching me?"

She glanced down as she thought and then lifted her eyes to his. With a sly smile, she reached underneath his collar to a spot between his shoulder blades and began scratching an itch that had been bothering him all morning. He reacted to her touch the way a dog would, yowling in his throat and pushing his head into her chest. She laughed and kissed the back of his head. He pulled back to look at her again. His smile was easy and his eyes twinkled with a light that Lena knew she would never tire of seeing. 

"You don't know what you do to me, Darlin'."

"Oh that wasn't nothin'. Most men aren't too far from their own inner puppy." She winked again. Then a cloud passed over her face as she began to understand what he was trying to say. She noticed how close he was to her and how intense the look in his eyes had become. She slid her chair away from him and took her bowl up to the sink. "I should probably get a move on myself. The Professor said it would be okay for me to look in on Annie. So I want to do that and I don't have the slightest idea where Cay Cay has gotten to."

He straightened up but couldn't stop looking at her. "Ya sure ya got enough to eat, Lena? You didn't even finish your oatmeal."

She was bracing herself against the sink. Rising too quickly had left her lightheaded. Then a wave of nausea hit her and she turned, panicked, towards the kitchen door. Holding her mouth she ran for the bathroom.

He ran after her, getting to the bathroom in time to hold her hair as she threw up.

"You gonna be okay, Darlin'?" He held out a cup of water that she took gratefully and used to wash the taste of vomit from her mouth. 

"I…I don't know, Logan. Hank told me that I should let him know if I had trouble keeping food down."

"I'm gonna take you down to the med lab then."

"No, I'd rather just go to my room and lay down."

"Lena, you haven't kept down any solid food in more'n twenty-four hours. It would be okay if ya hadn't been though the wringer several times over in the last couple o' days but you have and yer just a little bit of a thing to begin with. Hank'll probably want to put ya on a drip."

Her face broke and she looked like a forlorn child. "I hate drips. Hate it, it reminds me of…of…"

"I know what it reminds you of." He sighed and brushed the hair from her face. "But what do you want me to do, Lane? Yer just gonna get sicker. I can't let that happen. I just found you after all this time an' I'm not gonna loose you again."

She hung her head in resignation and allowed him to lead her back to the lab. 

--------

Henry wasn't at all surprised to see her return. It was more surprising to him that she had been able to make it out in the first place. He had only let her go because he knew how much she hated the lab. After he set up the IV drip, he headed off to a conference room to consult with Dr. MacTaggart about Lena's results.

"Let me see the full body scan again, Henry."

Hank tapped a button on the control panel to re-send the image to Dr. MacTaggart on Muir Island.

"Ooch, it looks like the whole endocrine system is wired-up. Now that's fiber optic cable, you said?

"Not standard issue, Moira, but yes."

She followed the paths again and reviewed some of Hank's notes. "If I had to guess, I'd say it's some sort of electro-chemical drain. But why would anaeone want to do tha'? Eventually, it'd have to kill her."

Hank ran a hand absentmindedly through his hair. "I think that's exactly what they wanted to do. If I try to reconstruct how the rig, as Lena calls it, worked, I think she was specifically rewired so that she could only work safely in that environment. I think they wanted to make her dependent on it. A sort of virtual leash."

"Good Lord! Yuir right. If she ran away, it'd only be a matter of time before… before… How could they do tha' to another living being?"

"I have no idea, good doctor." He sighed heavily. "But now, you and I must devise a way of undoing the damage. I fear it won't be an easy task."

-------------

"Lena?" Hank called into her room. "Caleb and Annaleah are here to see you. Can I send them in?"

"Certainly, get in here guys." Lena sat up in the hospital bed doing her best to look cheerful and ignore the drip tube.

"Hey Lanie. When you gonna stop goldbricking and help us move in?" Caleb teased her.

She smiled at him. "At this rate, I figure I'll be getting out as soon as you're done with the heavy stuff."

"Lena," Annie piped up, "Dr. Hank said you had something to talk to us about." 

"Yeah, I do. Come on up here and sit with me, you too Cay Cay."

"Lanie, I'm too old to be sittin' up there with you."

She sighed softly. "Indulge me, you big pain the ass."

Once Caleb finally crawled up beside her, Lena put her arms around both of them and gave them a big hug. For a moment, she held them, feeling them like she was trying to drink them in, wanting to remember just this moment.

Caleb couldn't stand it any longer. "What's going on M'ija? Why are you doing this?" His expression was strained. He was afraid to hear what she had to say.

"I'm sick, M'ijo. I'm not going to get any better unless Dr. McCoy goes in and tries to fix me. But, well… it's surgery and there's always some risk involved. I could die. I could end up catatonic."

"What happens if you don't have the surgery?"

"Eventually, if I keep using my powers, one of these times, it will kill me."

"So jou could go without the surgery if you didn't use your powers?"

She looked him full in the eyes and shrugged significantly.

"Jeah what am I thinkin'. Jou wouldn't last two seconds. Somebody'd get a damn hangnail and you'd wanna help them." 

"You should do it, Lena. You have to." Annie told her.

"I know, Annie. I'm going to. I just wanted to talk to you guys first. You're involved in this too. We're a family, right?"

"Jou bet. Don't worry Lena. Jou gonna be fine. I think the blue guys are good with this stuff."

"I think so too. Look, I'm probably gonna pull through this just fine but… If I… if something happens to me, I want you two to promise me that you'll take care of each other, that you'll stay brother and sister."

"Of course, Lena. We're family. We know that."

She pulled them close to her again. "You two know I don't go for the mushy stuff and so I'm gonna say this 'cause I know I don't say if often enough and not 'cause I'm worried. I love you both so much that sometimes I think I'm gonna bust. I've never been anything but proud to call myself your sister."

Caleb couldn't bear to hear anymore. So he stopped her with a joke. "Don't believe in the mushy stuff? M'ija, jou could write greeting cards for a living!" 

"I thought it was nice!" Annie's lower lip jutted out. Leave it to Cay Cay to ruin a moment, she thought.

"'Course you do. Jou still think Pokemon is cool."

"Caleb! It's okay, sweetheart, Caleb just knows it's his job to keep my feet on the ground. I think we're about done here anyway. Hank and I need to go over the pre-op stuff."

"When is the surgery?"

"How long will it take?"

"I don't know yet. I'll make sure Hank fills you in, okay?"

----------------

He watched them file out of the room as McCoy went back in. He hadn't intended to listen in on that conversation or any of the other conversations for that matter. But he was worried about her and nothing he had heard that morning made him worry any less. That damned machine had reached a lot deeper into her than anyone realized. Getting it out and making Lena well again was going to be a tall order.

Hank and Moira had given up on the idea of yanking the whole thing out in a surgical procedure. It was just too extensive and Lena was in no shape to undergo that kind of ordeal. They had decided to remove just the first link, the network that Lena referred to as the negative feedback chain. With that gone, Lena had a fighting chance to remove the rest of the links her way. The only problem was that the first link was also what kept her from catatonia. No one was sure that she would ever regain consciousness. 

Logan thought about the creepy song Jubilee used to play all the time that had the line about God having a sick sense of humor. He'd always hated that song, probably because the words rang too true to his ears. He wasn't in love with Lena, hadn't known her long enough. Was he maybe falling in love with her, he wondered? How could he not? Even tired and pale she was a real head turner. But she was so much more than that, so much spirit and so much heart and even a little touch of the devil to boot. And tomorrow he might loose her before he had a chance to know her. Not funny, God, he thought grimly. He spent the rest of the night on his Harley trying to drive fast enough to outrun his thoughts.

---------------------------------- 

The surgery took all day. Lena didn't react well to the sedatives. Her heartbeat was erratic throughout the procedure. Hank handled most of the work. Kurt assisted and Moira was patched in over a video link. Caleb, Annie and Logan kept vigil in the waiting room from 6:00 in the morning when Lena went into pre-op to 5:00 that night when she went into recovery.

"She's doing as well as can be expected. The rest of the sedatives should work their way out of her system in the next few hours. I don't know if she'll wake up right away but her vitals are good. The heartbeat is finally steady. Pulse and pressure are good. It's up to Lena now." Hank wearily took off his scrubs and ran his fingers through his hair. 

"When can we go in?" Caleb was the first to ask.

"Kurt's finishing up the dressing. So we need to keep it sterile in there. Give us about a half-an-hour to get her cleaned up and into a regular room and then you can sit with her."

Her vitals got stronger throughout the night but she didn't wake up. In the morning, Logan heard some sort of rustling underneath the bandages on her back. Kurt put on gloves and uncovered the stitches. Small threads of fiber optic cable were slowly forcing their way out of her back, or being forced. Ever since the morning, Lena had been draining IV's at a rate that Kurt could hardly keep up with. Hank theorized that Lena's body was doing what came naturally now that the negative feedback chain was removed. She was healing herself, cleaning herself out. 

"I know we all hoped that she'd be awake by now but I think we're still on safe ground. We just want to make sure that she knows we're here. Go ahead and talk to her, encourage her. She doesn't seem to be reactive now so you can even hold her hand. In fact, that might really help since she'll be able to feel your presence." Hank tried to sound more reassuring than he felt.

"So you saying she might have trouble findin' her way back?"

"Yes, Caleb. Hopefully, she'll come back to her conscious mind as soon as she's done with repairs but she may have trouble."

"I got an idea then. Annie, jou stay here with Mr. Logan and Dr. Hank, okay? I'll be right back."

Caleb returned in a few minutes with his boom box and a handful of CD's. It took him a second to catch his breath because he had run all the way back and forth.

"H'okay, Sis. I even brought the cowboy music and if I'm willin' to listen to that crap, jou better be willin' to wake up."

"Music," Hank remembered, "that's right. Lena told me music helped but she didn't really explain how."

"It's the rhythm. It's different from all of the rhythms inside a person and it's coming from the outside. So she can get her bearings with it. Anyway, she really like music, especially this cowboy crap." He popped in Fisherman's Blues by the Waterboys and set it to play.

"That's not cowboy music." Logan corrected him.

"It's white guys with fiddles okay, Logan? Jou probably like it but I like songs I can dance to."

"You can dance to this."

"If you can't dance salsa or mambo to it, I ain't interested." 

"I don't think it matters whether we like it as long as she does. Hell, I'd listen to Celine Dion if I thought it would bring her out of this."

"Really? Wow. I think you like Lanie more than I do then." He looked down at Lena. "Hear that Lena? Now you gotta wake up. We're making jokes about Celine the Yawn and jer missing all the fun."

"Hey kid, you might just be on to something." Logan focused on Lena. "Yep, her breathing's changing. I think she'll be coming out of it soon."

She woke up in the middle of Sweet Thing. As the song went into the second verse, she added her voice to it, 

"And I will ride my chariot down your streets and cry,

"Hey it's me. I'm dynamite and I don't know why,"

And you will take me in your arms again 

And I will not remember that I ever felt the pain." 

Nothing would have sounded sweeter to the people gathered around her bed.

"Lena!"

"Darlin'!"

"Lanie!"

"Hey there guys. Don't cha have anything better to do than watch a person sleep?"

"How are you doing, Miss Jones?"

"The truth, Henry?"

"Certainly."

"I'm starving." She smiled up at him.

"Marvelous! What can I tempt your palate with?"

"What I'd really like is a cheeseburger, french fries and a chocolate malt. I'm willing to negotiate on everything but the malt. I been thinkin' about that since last night."

Logan spoke up. "Nope."

She gave him her best pout. "I can't have a malt?"

"No, you get everything you want, no negotiations, not today. Caleb, you wanna ride shotgun?"

"I'm wit' jou, Jefe. Everybody else hungry too? My treat." Caleb waved his wallet in the air. 

As Caleb took food orders, Lena's eyes traveled around the room taking in all of the people. She tried to wrap her head around everything that had happened to her and she failed. All she knew was that some miraculous twist of fate had given her a second chance. She planned to use that second chance for all it was worth.

Fin – Stay tuned for the second series – Full Circle: Redemption – Coming Soon!

Thoughtful reviews improve your karmic balance.


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